Back Then
by Millineum Falcon
Summary: He hated this place. The is place where the smoke never seemed to clear & the people were always angry. He closed his eyes & thought of the place that made him happy...the place he belonged. Alright, it's my first story, so...please read, XD hah.


Alrighty guys, this is my first fan fiction piece, so…sorry if it's crap.

He breathed in deeply & let out a sad, heavy sigh.

He brought his eyes upward, away from his dirty shoes, & stared straight ahead. He looked out at the dirty, dismal city where he lived.

He hated this place. The is place where the smoke never seemed to clear & the people were always angry.

The government, if you could even call it that, did their best not to notice the deprivation amongst their people, treating some like animals. It was unjust.

This place, to sum it up in one word, would have to be…pathetic.

'Yeah,' he thought, frowning, 'that fits quite nicely.'

He sighed again, & crouched down onto the ground & sat. He continued downward until his back rested against the cold, hard earth.

He stared straight up into the sky. Even it expressed the same sadness that he & the city portrayed.

But to most people here, it would be considered a clear day, some even dared to call it 'pretty.' He disagreed completely. The 'blue' was more of a gray, Like the sidewalks of the grim city he lived in. Like it was always ready ro rain at any given moment.

He barely noticed the sun anymore, for it never seemed to shine as brightly as it did in Amestris.

He closed his eyes & smiled, though it was a sad smile. His heart ached as he remembered back to the time & place where he was happy. He inhaled the grimy air again as the painfully wonderful memories played back in his mind.

He see's a much younger version of himself running across a grassy field. His feet throbbed in the worn out sandals & the wind whipped through his then short hair. He smiled from ear to ear, & he held a certain sparkle in his eyes then. Some deemed it 'mischievious', he preffered 'curious' or 'adventerous' though. But it wasn't until he came here until he realized what it truly was. It was life. He knew, subconsciencely, it was waiting for him & that he would always have a home, a family, friends…life.

He dashed past the old wooden fence that outlined someone's property, & let out a shout. "Yeah!" He felt like he could run forever. Forever, & leave this deafeningly quiet town & be free. Oh, how he wished to be in that quiet little town now. His younger self was still running, & probably would've kept running if wasn't for one voice that stopped him. "Brother, wait up!..Ed!" A younger voice called out to him from far behind him. He stopped in his tracks & turned around. He smiled, breathing heavily as he saw two figures emerge from the horizon. The young boy who had called out to him was running towards him, red faced & panting. His dirty blonde hair stuck to his forehead as he tried to wipe the sweat away. "Brother…you..you're running too fast!" The boy called out to him in between pants. Next to him was a girl, older than boy, but not by much. She looked just as worn out as the boy next to her. She heaved in & out as she tried to keep up. He smiled at his two best friends. He lifted his foot to try & take a step towards them, to be with him, but his legs shook from exhaustion he didn't realize he had. "Woah!" He called out as the rest of his body shook & collapsed to the ground. He lay on his back, in sort of a state of shock. "Ed!!" His friends called out. He heard their footsteps get quicker as they ran towards him. He just closed his eyes & smiled. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring straight up at the sky. It was the perfect blend of blue, orange, & purple. Like it was every night when the sun threatened to set. The sky was always perfect. A cool breeze swept across the land, & his thoughts were interrupted by the worrysome faces of his friends. "Big brother, are you okay?" His younger brother, Alphonse, asked. "Yeah, Al…I'm fine." He smiled at his brother. Al closed his grey eyes & shook his head. "You shouldn't over work yourself like that, it isn't healthy." Al scolded his big brother. "Sorry." Ed laughed out. "Edward, he's right, you could've hurt yourself!" A more feminine voice argued. He's gaze wandrered over to the pretty blonde girl, Winry, her angry blue eyes staring down at him. He smiled at her, & laughed a little bit more. He didn't know why he was laughing…he just…felt like it. He heard his friends let out a sigh as chuckles escaped from their throats.

On either side of the younger Edward was Al & Winry. They stared at the sky together in silence. 'This place…it's too perfect.' He thought to himself. He sat up & brought his knees to his chest. He wrapped his arms around his legs & stared out at the little town they lived in. His friends followed suit & sat up. "…should we go home now guys?" Winry asked, as she noticed the sun had finally set. 'Why would I want to go home?' Ed thought. He felt air rise up on either side of him as Winry & Alphonse stood up. He looked up at them. "Come on Ed, let's go…it's dinner time!" Al said, holding out his hand to help his brother up. Ed stared at him for a minute, almost ready to argue, but the sound that erupted from his stomach spoke for him. Winry & Al giggled as he finally gave in & grabbed Al's hand & yanked himself up. He smiled as he looked over at his house. He could almost smell the food his mother was preparing. He looked at his younger brother, who was also looking down at the house. "Hey, Al!" He said. Al looked at him. "Last one to the house has to do dishes!!" Ed called as he took off towards the house, though his legs still hurt. "Hey, no fair big brother!!" Al followed him, trying to catch up. Winry gasped. "Guys, wait for me!! Guys!! Ed…Ed!!!"

"Ed?..Ed, wake up." A different female voice rung through his ears. He felt someone softly shake his shoulder & the now older Ed opened his eyes. He was half expecting to see the beautiful sunset painted across his hometown of Risembool, but instead he saw the same, sad gray sky he'd partially come accustomed to. He sighed & sat up. 'Yup…still the same.' He thought as he looked at the sad city. "Are you alright, Edward?" The voice asked him again. He turned his head in the direction the voice was coming from. On her knees next to him was not the young blonde haired, blue eyed girl, but instead, a woman who was equally as beautiful. Her long bruenette hair framed her dark face. Her brown eyes were filled with the same worry as Winry's & Al's had in his memory. He smiled at her & replied to her "Yeah Noa, I'm just fine." She returned the smile sadly, knowing the place he was thinking of. He got up from the ground & helped Noa up. They looked at eachother for a moment, as he still held onto her hand. "Jeez Ed, about time you woke up! We were trying for nearly five minutes!" Someone else said to him. His attention diverted to the blonde boy standing a few feet away from them. His blue eyes were filled with happiness as he walked up to the pair. "Sorry Alfonse, didn't mean to waste your time." You joked back at him. Alfonse laughed & said "It's alright, I'll forgive you. Anyway, Gracia's making dinnder for all of us, let's hurry up before we're late." He said. Once again, before Ed could say anything, his stomach spoke for him. Noa & Al giggled as Edward placed his free hand over his stomach & blushed. "Yeah…let's go." They walked across the dead grassed hill & onto the streets of the city. They walked in silence, sometimes looking at one another, smiling.

Ed looked at both of his friends at a time when he didn't catch either of their eyes. He looked down to his hand, which was still holding Noa's. His golden eyes diverted back to the city in front of him. The city was still sad & pathetic, the people still worn out, but the people on either side of him were different. They were smiling…which made him smile. Being in their company always had this effect on him. 'Well…this place isn't that bad, I guess.'

**FIN**

Well…like I said, it's my first one, lol. I hope you at least kind of liked it.


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